Pineapple exports to grow 16% in 2024 — FAO

PINEAPPLE exports from the Philippines are expected to grow 15.8% to 692,365 tons this year due to favorable growing conditions, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said.

According to the FAO’s Major Tropical Fruits Market Review, global exports of pineapples are expected to grow 4% to 3.3 million tons in 2024.

“(This is) determined largely by higher supplies from Costa Rica and the Philippines, the world’s leading exporters, with market shares of around 65% and 21%, respectively,” the FAO said.

According to the FAO, preliminary trade data as of August show a 3% year-on-year increase in pineapple shipments to China, the leading recipient of pineapples from the Philippines.

China is the third-leading global importer of pineapples. Despite having the capacity to produce around 2 million tons of pineapples annually, the FAO said that changing consumer preferences, such as growing demand for premium pineapples, drove China’s growth in imports.

According to the FAO, the MD2 variety of pineapples from the Philippines is highly sought after in China.

“Further key import markets for pineapples from the Philippines remained Japan and the Republic of Korea over the first eight months of 2024, at quantity shares of some 33% and 16%, respectively,” it said.

“Shipments of Filipino pineapples to both destinations expanded substantially from the previous year, by a reported 28% to Japan and 37% to Korea,” it added.

According to the FAO, the average export unit value of shipments from the Philippines to world markets stood at $617 per ton during the first eight months, a year-on-year increase of 5%.

Meanwhile, pineapple shipments from Costa Rica are expected to rise 3% to 2.1 million tons. These mostly go to the US and European Union.

“The average export unit value of shipments from Costa Rica to world markets stood at $564 per ton over the first eight months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 3%,” according to the report.

The report, however, estimates a 9.84% decline in Philippine mango, mangosteen, and guava exports to 13,141 tons and a 24.5% dip in papaya exports to 7,545 tons.

The FAO estimates global exports of major tropical fruits to grow 2% to $11 billion this year, with global exports of mango, mangosteen, and guava expected to grow 3% to 2.5 million tons and exports of pineapple to increase by 4% to 3.3 million tons.

Meanwhile, global exports of avocado and papaya are expected to rise 2% and 1%, respectively. — Justine Irish D. Tabile